Raw ice cream is a dessert made without cooking ingredients, often for raw food or vegan diets. Two methods include using water or a blender to freeze fruits, and natural sweeteners replace processed sugars. Stirring is necessary to prevent a solid block from forming.
Raw ice cream is a version of the classic dessert that is prepared without cooking the ingredients. This is often done to cater for a raw food or vegan diet where normal ice cream making methods, along with standard ingredients, are outside the realm of what foods are allowed. There are two common ways to make raw ice cream, with the first relying on water or another liquid to freeze and create the solid, frozen texture for the other ingredients. The second method uses a blender or food processor to essentially whip frozen fruits like bananas into something with an ice cream texture. Processed sugars and sweeteners aren’t usually added to raw ice cream and are instead replaced with items like maple syrup, nectars, or sweet fruits like dates.
The first method of creating raw ice cream actually resembles the process used to make water ice. Ingredients such as berries and other fruits are combined with a small amount of water and crushed together or blended in a food processor. A natural sweetener such as agave nectar, beet root or maple syrup is mixed into the water along with any additional flavorings. The mixture is placed in a bowl, covered or sealed, and placed in a freezer, with the contents stirred regularly to prevent a solid block of ice from forming. The end result is a container filled with a semi-creamy raw ice cream that can be served like a sorbet, although it tends to melt quickly.
The second method of making raw ice cream produces a result that looks more like traditional ice cream and uses frozen bananas or other starchy fruits. The bananas are cut and then frozen for a few hours. Then they are placed in a blender or food processor and mixed until a paste is formed. Once the dough is formed, ingredients such as sweeteners, diced fruit or cocoa powder can be added. The mixture is then whipped in a food processor until enough air has been incorporated into the paste to make it light, fluffy, and creamy.
Whatever method you use to make raw ice cream, once it’s placed in the freezer it’s important that you can’t set the mixture without being stirred a few times first. This means stirring the mix, shaking the container vigorously, using an ice cream maker, or scraping the mix to create loose ice crystals. If this isn’t done regularly until the uncooked ice cream has set, the result will be a solid block that will be too difficult to scoop and serve while frozen.
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